Articles – Page 28 – Mythic Scribes Test Site

The Mythic Archipelago – A Community Worldbuilding Project

The sailors have had a long, hard voyage. Their shipmates have succumbed to sickness, sea monsters, and savages along the way. There are just enough of them left to keep sailing – and they do, for the cargo in their hold will make them all wealthy. As the sun burns the mists away from the sea-cliffs, they catch a glimpse of your isle.

Do they find civilizations to trade with? Do they find a deserted island with naught but trees and animals? Do they find a remote home of horrors, full of monsters that devour passers-by? Do they find pirates and conquerors, or artists and merchants?

Only you can decide.

10 Easy Steps to Crush Creative ADD

by Philip Overby

You’re working on your current project when a beautiful faerie lands on your laptop and says, “Hey! Why are you writing this boring story? Look over here!”

Wow, a story about elven wyvern hunters in 18th Century Central America is much more interesting than my current Work in Progress (WIP) about mutant horse-thieves in a post-apocalyptic world ruled by centaurs.

The faerie grabs your hand, hovers it over a new Word document, and jumps up and down on your finger until you left-click it. Ah. Like sinking into a warm bath. The feeling of cleansing away your dirty, stinky WIP and starting a pristine, new document, that little blinking cursor sending shivers up your spine.

What Fantasy Writers Can Learn From Horror

by Featured Author

This article is by Martin White.

Horror is by no means an underrated genre, but it’s typically forgotten in discussions of speculative fiction. Much ink is spilled on the differences between science fiction and fantasy, but horror is examined on its own, with few connections to its siblings.

As an advocate of genre-mixing, I’m drawn to horror from the direction of fantasy. One discusses our dreams, and the other our nightmares, but the two sometimes call upon surprisingly similar techniques.

The Owls Are Not What They Seem – Expanding Minds with Loose Ends

by Nathan Lauffer

This article is by Nathan Lauffer and Kevin Spencer.

We are all, to varying extents, seekers after truth. I’m certain we are hard wired for it. Humans are all philosophers, who vary only in the questions they ask.

Over the years, I’ve become fascinated with stories that operate in worlds whose mythology, or at least backstory, is not immediately rendered apparent to the reader/viewer. I like the way these stories progressively reveal these things as they go and give us a series of Uh-Huh moments.

Mystery in Stories Engages Us

Going back, I can recall shows from my childhood all the way up to the present that have done this. Dune made me wonder what was so special about the spice mélange and how it was made.

Writing Without Pants – Does Outlining Kill Creativity?

by Philip Overby

I’m not wearing pants. However, when writing novels, sometimes I like to sit in my jeans or maybe pajama bottoms. Wait a minute. I know what you’re thinking. “Is he really going to talk about the benefits of writing with or without pants?” Well, I was going to…

I think the more appropriate question might be, “How do you write?” Do you write with no pants (aka “seat of the pants writer” or “pantser”) or do you write with all your clothes laid out (aka “outline writer”)? This is an age old question that is often batted back and forth between writers of all types. When it comes to fantasy writing, boy, do you have a lot of work to do.

I’ll go point by point (with no pants), explaining why just making stuff up as you go along vs. outlining and world-building every minute detail can be both a pleasant and horrifying experience: like getting drowned by mermaids.

Stop Writing That Epic! Why New Writers Should Start Small

by Benjamin Clayborne

A new graduate from the Mechanical Engineering department at Miskatonic University wants to get his career going. So he has to decide what he’s going to design first.

He decides to build an aircraft carrier.

Never mind that this is one of the most elaborate, complex pieces of machinery conceivable—the graduate has decided that he’s capable of designing and building something immensely huge and complex, just like the guys who have been doing it for thirty years.

This sounds insane, but it’s exactly what a huge number of novice writers do when starting out their careers. Instead of starting with something manageable—Ray Bradbury famously advised writing short stories for several years before even attempting a novel—new writers often decide that they’re capable of producing a twelve-volume epic saga with hundreds of characters.

The Human Beneath the Hero

by Tristan Gregory

A common trait of beginner fiction is that its protagonists are all – to use the technical term – “total badasses.” They have no appreciable sense of fear, pain, apprehension, or doubt. They take multiple drastic wounds without slowing down, are threatened with all manner of terrible fates without flinching, and always seem to know the right thing to do.

When we are young, we might mistake the lack of obvious signs of these emotions for the lack of the emotions themselves – few of us possess enough discipline at an early age to conceal fear and pain, and thus have trouble understanding the concept. As we grow older, though, we realize that other people feel these things as well – even the ones who rarely show it.

Medieval Archery for Fantasy Writers

by A. Howitt

In our distant past, archery nearly became a lost art, a useless tool once weapons technology had moved on. If not for the resurgence of popularity in the early to mid-nineteenth century, it might have vanished in Europe and America entirely, being relegated to the more primitive cultures which rely on it as a means to procure food and make war.

But how best to portray archery in a world where magic is common and monsters are not mere wild animals, but horrific creatures bent on destruction?

First, what type of archery are you trying to portray? Fourteenth century longbows firing war arrows on a battlefield? A band of warriors decimating foot soldiers from horseback? A small group of characters hunting or sneaking through an occupied land?